In order to access oil and gas deposits located in underground formations it is necessary to drill bore holes into these underground formation and deploy production tubing to facilitate the extraction of the oil and gas deposits.
Additional tubing, in the form of well lining or well casing, may also deployed in locations where the underground formation is unstable and needs to held back to maintain the integrity of the oil/gas well.
From time to time during the formation, completion and closure of oil and gas wells objects can become stranded within the well. Such objects can include: hand tools (e.g. wrenches); downhole tools; or parts of the casing that have become disconnected from the main casing body.
Due to the limited access available within oil/gas wells, which are generally formed in deep underground formations stranded objects, such as those identified, can obstruct the passage of working equipment through the well and disrupt normal operations. Any disruption to the operation of an oil/gas well can be expensive due to a halt in the extraction of oil/gas.
When objects become stranded downhole fishing tools can be employed to retrieve them from within the well as quickly as possible so that normal operations can be resumed promptly.
However due to the distance between the operator, at the surface, and the stranded object deep within the well the process of fishing the object out can be challenging and time consuming. Also the equipment need for the fishing exercise is expensive.